Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what representations he has made to his Sudanese counterpart on the Sudanese authorities' response to the protests in that country.

On 9 January the British Ambassador registered the UK's concern directly with Sudan's Acting Foreign Minister regarding the level of violence used to disperse peaceful protests in Sudan. He reiterated the messages in the public statement made by the Troika (Norway/ UK/ US) and Canada on 8 January urging the government to respect the Sudanese people's right to freedom of expression and peaceful assembly, and to ensure those responsible for the deaths of protestors are held to account.